It has been a difficult week for me. Last week, I wrote about how there seems to a power shift in fantasy baseball toward younger players. As a man in his mid-30s, I started to feel irrelevant.

To fabricate an increased sense of continued significance, I had to look for some good comeback stories, ones where players were able to reclaim some time in the spotlight, proving they did not have to relinquish the wonder of their youth.

And wouldn't you know it, I found some. And then I baked a cake.

I then looked deeper into the situation and found that all these comeback candidates are still younger than me. And then I ate the whole cake.

An early-season surprise happened in Cleveland when former Tampa Bay staff ace Scott Kazmir earned a spot in the rotation. This was such a surprise since it doesn't feel that long ago when he posted career highs with 13 wins and 239 strikeouts, but that came in 2007, and he had only pitched in one major league game in the past two years combined.

At 29 years old, Kazmir was getting another chance, but it did not immediately look like a stellar move, as he has been up and down (see chart).

He began the year by giving up six earned runs in 3-1/3 innings. Thankfully, that came against the Astros, so the Indians were still able to pull out a 19-6 win. He then put together a few good outings, allowing only five earned runs over 17 innings in his next three starts.

He seemed to be on an upward trend, striking out seven in six innings in a win over the Twins, and then fanning 10 in six innings to top the A's in his next start. Just when it seemed he had it all together, though, he lost to the Phillies, giving up 4 earned runs, 6 hits and 2 walks while striking out only 3 in a five-inning outing.

Kazmir has not moved into must-own territory, but has shown enough to deserve consideration if you are looking for a spot starter or injury replacement. To help push you in that direction, know that his next scheduled start is a noon game Monday against the Mariners, who entered the four-game series against the Indians batting only .240 as a team, ranking 26th in the majors.

Former phenom Francisco Liriano has fallen a few notches, being relegated all the way down to Pittsburgh now that he is 29 years old. At least he made it to Pittsburgh after starting the season with five rehab appearances in the minors while coming back from a broken right arm.

There was some excitement when Liriano came up from Triple A, where he made three starts, striking out 23 batters in 16 innings. He has continued to look good in the majors, going 2-0 in two starts and setting down 16 opponents on strikes in 11 innings.

Those strikeouts are enticing, as Liriano has put up good numbers there even while working on a controlled pitch count. His 1.64 ERA is also a welcome addition to fantasy squads, but he does have a 1.55 WHIP and opponents are hitting .273 against him. Something has to give there, as he is allowing too many base runners to give up so few runs, but it could be that he is still getting stronger and improving.

It would also be understandable to bet against that happening — Liriano was 6-12 last year and hasn't posted an ERA under 5.00 since 2010 — but if you think he could remain a viable strikeout machine, the time to move is now, for one more solid start should see him picked up in most leagues.

The Yankees are succeeding as a team while most of their hopes for the season are tied into this notion of comebacks. The first part of that plan fell into place last week when Curtis Granderson came off the disabled list.

The 32-year-old outfielder also made his way back from a broken arm and showed he healed well. Granderson played in five rehab games with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, batting .400 with a home run. Things did not turn much worse with the big boys, as he got in all three games in a series with the Mariners, batting .364, scoring two runs and stealing a base.

Granderson didn't present the same possibilities as Kazmir and Liriano, since he is enough of a fantasy star to already demand full ownership in all leagues. Teammates Mark Teixeira (65.4 percent owned) and Derek Jeter (25.2), however, are falling off fantasy rosters on ESPN.com and could still be difference makers when they return. They are especially worth looking into if you are in a league with DL spots and have one open.